Friday, December 10, 2004

Commission Junction Affiliate Program Review

The thing about Commission Junction is that it's not really an affiliate program; it's a whole network of affiliate programs in one place. When you get a membership with Commission Junction, you have literally hundreds (over 1400 in at the time of this writing) of merchants in every category imaginable that you can promote. Some of the products available to promote through CJ that are profitable include:

web hosting

credit cards

inkjet printers

debt consolidation

car loans

home loans

payday loans

shoes

perfume

lobster grams

Obviously, CJ offers something for just about everyone through their network. When I log in to my account there, I'm able to view a list of the different programs that are available. I can arrange this list in a number of ways--I can view the programs I'm a member of, I can view the programs that have the highest EPC (earnings per 100 clicks) in the network, and I can view the programs in order of how much the programs pay per lead, per sale, or per click. This is probably my favorite feature of the Commission Junction interface in fact--the flexibility I have in viewing the programs that are available to me.

Commission Junction also offers education tools to help affiliate make the most of their relationship with their network. This is called Commission Junction University Online. This section of the members' area includes the latest news about the network, strategy tips and ideas, and resources for affiliates. They also hold an annual event called Commission Junction University (CJU) where you can go hear speakers explain how to make more money with them.

A lot of big name companies have hired Commission Junction to run their affiliate programs for them. Some of these companies include:

eBay

Morgan Stanley

The New York Times

Geico

The University of Phoenix

Capital One

There are a lot more, but I could list famous companies all day, and this article just doesn't have room for that. Commission Junction is definitely worth checking out though, if nothing else because of the depth and breadth of their program offerings. Whether you're interested in running a website about online psychics, dating services, or the rv lifestyle, CJ has got something to offer.

On a side not, as far as I know, CJ does not offer any kind of override to webmasters who refer other webmasters to their program, so this recommendation is not an advertorial, and I've got nothing to gain from recommending their program. I'm reviewing the program because a website that claims to review affiliate programs but leaves out Commission Junction would be like a wine store that didn't carry merlot.